MINECRAFT END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

In order to protect Minecraft (our "Game") and the members of our community, we need these terms (“Agreement”) to set out some rules for using Minecraft, our Website, and Minecraft Realms. This license is a legal agreement between you and us (Mojang AB) and it describes the terms and conditions for using our Game and anything we’ve made. And so that we are crystal clear, "the Game" or "what we have made" includes, but is not limited to, the client and the server software for our Game and includes Minecraft, Minecraft Online, Minecraft Realms, and Minecraft: Java Edition on all platforms. It also includes updates, patches, downloadable content, add-ons, or modified versions of a Game, part of those things, or anything else we've made. Sometimes we might refer to specific versions of Minecraft (like Minecraft: Java Edition) if the rules are different. We don't like reading license documents any more than you do, so we have tried to keep this as short as possible. If you break these rules we may stop you from using our Game. If we think it is necessary, we might even have to ask our lawyers to help out.

If you buy, download, use or play our Game, or if you use the Mojang Website or create a Mojang Account, you are agreeing to stick to the rules of these terms and conditions ("Agreement"). If you don't want to or can't agree to these rules, then you must not buy, download, use or play our Game.

This Agreement incorporates the Microsoft Privacy Statement. We care about your privacy and you should read the Privacy Statement at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=521839. It describes the types of data we collect from you and your devices, how we use your data, and the legal bases we have to process your data.

IF YOU LIVE IN (OR YOUR PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS IS IN) THE UNITED STATES, PLEASE READ THE BINDING ARBITRATION CLAUSE AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER IN SECTION 8 BELOW. IT AFFECTS HOW DISPUTES ARE RESOLVED.

1. ONE MAJOR RULE

The one major rule is that you must not distribute anything we've made unless we specifically agree to it. By "distribute anything we've made" what we mean is:

give copies of our Game to anyone else;

make commercial use of anything we've made;

try to make money from anything we've made; or

let other people get access to anything we've made in a way that is unfair or unreasonable;

unless we specifically agree to it.
Otherwise we are quite relaxed about what you do - in fact we really encourage you to do cool stuff - but just don't do those things that we say you can't.

2. USING OUR GAME

You have been granted a license to the Game so you can play and use it, yourself, on your devices.
Below we also give you limited rights to do other things but we have to draw a line somewhere or else people will go too far. If you wish to make something pertaining to anything we've made we're humbled, but please make sure that it can't be interpreted as being official and that it complies with this Agreement and and above all do not make commercial use of anything we've made.

The license and permission we give you to use and play our Game can be revoked if you break any of the terms of this Agreement.

When you buy our Game, you receive a license that gives you permission to install the Game on your own personal device and use and play it on that device as set out in this Agreement. This permission is personal to you, so you are not allowed to distribute the Game (or any part of it) to anyone else. This also means you cannot sell or rent the Game, or make it available for access to other people and you cannot pass on or resell any license keys. You may however give gift codes that have been bought through our official gift code system. This is important to help us stop piracy and fraud and to protect our Game. It is also important to prevent members of our community from buying pirated versions of our Game or fraudulent license keys - which we may cancel, such as in the case of fraud.

Within reason you're free to do whatever you want with screenshots and videos of the Game. By "within reason" we mean that you can't make any commercial use of them or do things that are unfair or adversely affect our rights unless we've specifically said it's okay in this Agreement, allowed it through the Brand and Asset Usage Guidelines, or provided for it in a specific agreement with you. If you upload videos of the game to video sharing and streaming sites you are however allowed to put ads on them. Also, don't just rip art resources and pass them around, that's no fun.

Essentially the simple rule is do not make commercial use of anything we've made unless we've specifically said it's okay. Oh and if the law expressly allows it, such as under a "fair use" or fair dealing" doctrine then that's ok too - but only to the extent that the law applicable to you says so.

In order to ensure the integrity of the Game, we need all Game downloads and updates to come from an authorized source. It's also important for us that 3rd party tools/services don't seem "official" as we can't guarantee their quality. It's part of the responsibility we have to the customers of Minecraft. Make sure that you read through our brand and asset usage guidelines too.

3. OWNERSHIP OF OUR GAME AND OTHER THINGS

Although we license you permission to install on your device and play our Game, we are still the owners of it. We are also the owners of our brands and any content contained in the Game. Therefore, when you pay for our Game, you are buying a license to play / use our Game in accordance with this Agreement - you are not buying the Game itself. The only permissions you have in connection with the Game and your installation of it are the permissions set out in this Agreement.

If you make any content available on or through our Game, you agree to give us permission to use, copy, modify, adapt, distribute, and publicly display that content. This permission is irrevocable, and you also agree to let us permit other people to use, copy, modify, adapt, distribute, and publicly display your content. You are not giving up your ownership rights in your content, you are just giving us and other users permission to use it. For example, we may need to copy, reformat, and distribute content that you post on our website so others can read it. If you don't want to give us these permissions, do not make content available on or through our Game. Please think carefully before you make any content available, because it may be made public and might even be used by other people in a way you don't like.

If you are going to make something available on or through our Game, it must not be offensive to people or illegal, it must be honest, and it must be your own creation. Some examples of the types of things you must not make available using our Game include: posts that include racist or homophobic language; posts that are bullying or trolling; posts that are offensive or that damage our or another person's reputation; posts that include porn or someone else's creation or image; or posts that impersonate a moderator or try to trick or exploit people.

Any content you make available on our Game must also be your creation or you must have permission or the legal right to do it. You must not and you agree that you will not make any content available, using the Game that infringes the rights of others.

We reserve the right to take down any content in our discretion.

Please watch out if you are talking to people in our Game. It is hard for either you or us to know for sure that what people say is true, or even if people are really who they say they are. You should think twice about giving out information about yourself.

4. MINECRAFT: JAVA EDITION

If you've bought Minecraft: Java Edition, you may play around with it and modify it by adding modifications, tools, or plugins, which we will refer to collectively as "Mods." By "Mods," we mean something original that you or someone else created that doesn't contain a substantial part of our copyrightable code or content. When you combine your Mod with the Minecraft software, we will call that combination a "Modded Version" of the Game. We have the final say on what constitutes a Mod and what doesn't. You may not distribute any Modded Versions of our Game or software, and we’d appreciate it if you didn’t use Mods for griefing. Basically, Mods are okay to distribute; hacked versions or Modded Versions of the client or server software for Minecraft: Java Edition are not okay to distribute.

Any Mods you create for the Minecraft: Java Edition from scratch belong to you (including pre-run Mods and in-memory Mods) and you can do whatever you want with them, as long as you don't sell them for money / try to make money from them and so long as you don’t distribute Modded Versions of Minecraft: Java Edition. Remember that a Mod means something that is your original work and that does not contain a substantial part of our code or content. You only own what you created; you do not own our code or content.

5. UPDATES

We might make upgrades, updates or patches (we call them all "updates") available from time to time, but we don't have to. We are also not obliged to provide ongoing support or maintenance of any Game. Of course, we hope to continue to release new updates for our Game, we just can't guarantee that we will do so. With updates come changes that might not work well with other software, such as Mods. This is unfortunate, but it is something we don’t take responsibility for. If that is the case, try running an older version.

6. MOJANG ACCOUNT AND WEBSITE

It is important to us that all of the members of our community can enjoy using our Website, so we've set a few ground rules. We also want to make sure that people don't use our Website in a way which might have a bad impact on our games or our brand.

REGISTRATION, ACCOUNT AND PASSWORD

The details you give us as part of the registration must be correct. You can change your registration details if they become out of date. If you deliberately tell us something that you know isn't true, we may terminate or suspend your account.

You might need to register with us to access all of the parts of our Website. The username and password that you create and the activities occurring on your account are your responsibility, so please protect them and remember that our staff will never ask you to give out your password. You should change your password if you think someone whom you did not authorize knows what it is. Please note that we are not responsible if someone uses your password to do something on our Website that you don't like or that causes you harm.

RIGHTS OF USE AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

You are free to use our Website as long as you stick to these Account Terms. You can only use this Website and its content for your personal use. Your permission to use this Website is personal to you, so you can't give it to anyone else.

Don't forget that we still own the Website and the content on it, but we are giving you permission to use it. We want you to enjoy using our Website, but if we want, we can take away your permission to use our Website at any time if necessary.

If you want to notify us that you believe someone is infringing your intellectual property on our Website or services or in Minecraft Realms, please submit your notice here (https://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyrtInfrg.aspx). If appropriate, we may terminate the accounts of users who are repeat infringers. We reserve the right to take down any content in our discretion.

RESTRICTIONS AND OBLIGATIONS

You aren't allowed to hack, decompile or change our Website at all and you mustn't do so. This includes the code or any content or data. Basically, you should just leave it as it is. You also aren't allowed to create any software or content that mimics our Website or branding. We really don't want any of our community to get confused about which is the official Website and which is a website that someone other than us operates.

Please don't use our Website in a way which we might think is offensive, immoral or illegal, or makes other people feel uncomfortable. We don't want our Website to be used in a way which upsets people.

You can't use our Website for commercial purposes, and you aren't allowed to try to make money from using our Website.

FORUM AND COMMUNICATIONS

If we are running a forum, we are just allowing members of our community to put their thoughts on our Website. It doesn't mean we represent or agree with those thoughts, and we can't be held responsible for what people post on our Website.

If we happen to see a post that we think is offensive, we might take it down, but it's not our job to screen or moderate the posts people make. What we say about forums and posts also applies to anything which enables people to put any other content, views or material on our Website or send it to others using the Website.

If you are going to put something up on our Website, it must not be offensive to people or illegal, it must be honest, and it must be your own creation. Some examples of the types of things you must not put on our Website include: posts that include racist or homophobic language; posts that are bullying; posts that are offensive or that damage our or another person's reputation; posts that include porn, advertising or someone else's creation or image; or posts that impersonate a moderator or try to trick or exploit people.

If you put something you don't have the right to put on our Website, you could get into a lot of trouble so please don't do it. You agree that whatever you post does not infringe anyone else's intellectual property or other rights.

If you post any content on our Website, you must (and by doing so you actually do) give us permission to use, copy, modify, adapt, distribute and publicly display that content as part of our Websites and games. This permission is perpetual, worldwide and irrevocable. You also agree to let us permit others to use, copy, modify, adapt, distribute and publicly display your content. You are not giving up your ownership rights in your content, you are just giving us and other users permission to use it. For example, we may need to copy, reformat, and distribute content that you post on our website so others can read it. If you don't want to give us this permission, then please do not post any content on our Website. Please think carefully before you post any content, because it will be made public and might even be used by other people in a way you don't like.

We reserve the right to take down any content in our discretion.

Please watch out if you are talking to people on or through our Website. It is hard for either you or us to know for sure that what people say is true, or even if people are really who they say they are. You should always think twice about giving out information about yourself.

PURCHASES

You can buy games on our Website, as well as other products from third-parties. In order to do this, our Website is integrated with third party service providers. To buy some products shown on our Website, you will have to leave our Website and make the transaction on a third-party website. Aspects of those transactions are covered by our third party service providers, as well as these Account Terms. We try to make sure the Website only shows games or products that are available, but of course we can't guarantee that all of the games or products will always be available.

PRICE AND PAYMENT

The pricing and payment method are set out on our Website, but we might change them every once in a while and we can refuse any form of payment if we want, and we can return payment to you without completing a transaction if the item paid for was posted or priced by mistake. You must always pay in the currency set out on our Website, but your credit card company should be able to exchange your money if necessary. Your credit card company might do security checks to make sure it is really you making the order.

GAME CURRENCY AND VIRTUAL GOODS

The Game may include a virtual, game currency (like Minecraft Coins, gold, points) that may be purchased from us using actual monetary instruments if you have reached the age of "majority" where you live. The Game may also include virtual, digital items or goods that may be purchased from us using actual monetary instruments or using game currency. Game currency and virtual goods may never be redeemed for actual monetary instruments, goods or other items of monetary value from us or any other party. Other than a limited, personal, revocable, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to use the game currency and virtual goods in the Game only, you have no right or title in or to any such game currency or virtual goods appearing or originating in the Game, or any other attributes associated with use of the Game or stored within the Game. We may at any time regulate, control, modify and/or eliminate the game currency and/or virtual goods as we see fit in our sole discretion.

RETURNS, REFUNDS AND CANCELLATION

If you can't use a game or a product because it doesn't work, let us know and we'll try to help you out.

The purchase of a game through our Website provides you with a license to use the game that commences when the download of the game starts, following which you shall not be entitled to cancel your order for the game. If you first downloaded the game to play in DEMO mode and later buy a license code, your license commences when you redeem the license code.

You or we may cancel your account at any time. When your account terminates, your rights under these Account Terms terminate. The Arbitration Agreement (if you live in the United States) and sections with headings "Restrictions and Obligations" and "Our Liability, Governing Law, and Place to Resolve Disputes" will survive termination.

ERRORS

We do what we can to make sure all of the information on our Website is correct. However, sometimes there might be errors. We might also cancel or suspend a transaction if there has been an error.

PROMOTIONS

Sometimes we run promotions. If we do, the main rules of the promotion are below. There might be other rules relating to a particular promotion, but we will tell you about them when we tell you about the promotion.

The main rules are:

Only one promotion can be used at a time, and you can't use a promotion with another offer.

Discounts are only valid until the date specified and they only apply to purchases made on the Website.

Discounts are not refundable.

We may cancel or change a promotion at any time.

7. MINECRAFT REALMS

The terms of this Section 7 apply if you have signed up for Minecraft Realms.

WHAT IS MINECRAFT REALMS

Minecraft Realms is a service designed to easily let people play Minecraft with other people on a dedicated server subject to these Terms.

A "Minecraft Realm" is therefore a single Minecraft world, server or instance that is hosted by us.

You may either use Minecraft Realms by having your own Minecraft Realm ("Your Minecraft Realm") or by being given permission to use someone else's Minecraft Realm ("Other Minecraft Realms"). Reference to using Minecraft Realms therefore includes the use of both Your Minecraft Realm and Other Minecraft Realms.

USING MINECRAFT REALMS

To use Minecraft Realms you, among other things, need to:

have a legitimate licensed copy of the full, activated version of the Game and an Xbox Live account (for Minecraft) or a Mojang account (for Minecraft: Java Edition);

agree to these Terms; and

have a suitable device and internet connection;

GETTING YOUR MINECRAFT REALM

You need an Xbox Live account (for Minecraft) or a Mojang account (for Minecraft: Java Edition) with Minecraft activated to be able to get Your Minecraft Realm. You will also need to buy or subscribe to and pay for it. Minecraft Realms is a subscription service and the cost is as detailed on the applicable purchase pages and / or platform at the time of purchase, or the purchase price of the redeemable card or gift code. The terms and conditions of the applicable purchase pages, platform, redeemable card and / or gift code shall also apply in respect of the purchase of Minecraft Realms. Minecraft Realms is a service that commences as soon as Your Minecraft Realm is available for use, following which you shall not be entitled to cancel your order for it.

USING YOUR MINECRAFT REALM

When you get Your Minecraft Realm you will get access to a dedicated Minecraft Realm, on which you can;

play Minecraft by yourself;

invite several other people to play Minecraft with you (the number depends on which version of Realms you get).

However you cannot do the following:

sell, lease, rent, transfer, give away, or otherwise deal in access to Your Minecraft Realm or receive consideration for letting other people play on Your Minecraft Realm.

USING OTHER MINECRAFT REALMS

You need a legitimate, activated copy of Minecraft to be able to use someone else's Minecraft Realms (Other Minecraft Realms). When you are given access to Other Minecraft Realms you will get access to someone else's dedicated Minecraft Realm, on which you can;

play Minecraft with that person; and

play Minecraft with anyone else that that person has given access to.

However you cannot do the following:

sell, lease, rent, transfer, give away, or otherwise deal in access to Other Minecraft Realms or let any other person use your access in any way.

PLEASE DO NOT GIVE ACCESS TO YOUR MINECRAFT REALM TO ANYONE YOU DO NOT KNOW. PLEASE WATCH OUT IF YOU ARE COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE THROUGH MINECRAFT REALMS. IT'S HARD FOR EITHER YOU OR US TO KNOW FOR SURE THAT WHAT PEOPLE SAY IS TRUE, OR EVEN IF PEOPLE ARE REALLY WHO THEY SAY THEY ARE. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS THINK TWICE ABOUT GIVING OUT PERSONAL INFORMATION.

ACCOUNTS

As noted above you need an Xbox Live account (for Minecraft) or a Mojang account (for Minecraft: Java Edition) and an activated licensed version of Minecraft. If you don't have these then you will be asked to provide certain information to set up and activate either or both. The details you give us as part of the registration must be correct. You can change your registration details if they become out of date. If you deliberately tell us something that you know isn't true, we may terminate or suspend your account.

The username and password that you create and the activities occurring on your account are your responsibility. If someone uses your password to do something that you don't like or that causes you harm, we can't be and aren't responsible.

OWNERSHIP OF MINECRAFT REALMS AND OTHER THINGS

Minecraft Realms is made up of our software, textures, assets, tools, infrastructure and a whole load of other clever (and not so clever) stuff that we own. All our rights in that stuff are asserted and reserved but you can use it within and in connection with your use of Minecraft Realms on the same basis as set out in the Minecraft EULA and you are granted a non-exclusive right to do so subject to these Terms.

That doesn't mean we own the cool stuff that you create using Minecraft Realms - you just have to accept that we own each of Minecraft and Minecraft Realms as a product and service and those things mentioned in the previous sentence - and we also own the copyright and other so called intellectual property rights ("IPRs") associated with those things and the names and brands associated with Minecraft and Minecraft Realms.

You of course are going to make your own stuff in and using Minecraft Realms. We don't own the original stuff that you create and we don't claim any ownership of anything that we shouldn't. We will however own things that are copies (or substantial copies) or derivatives of our property and creations (outlined above) - but if you create original things they aren't ours. So, as an example:

a single block - we own that;

a Gothic Cathedral with a rollercoaster running through it - we don't own that.

Therefore, when you pay for the use of Minecraft Realms, you are only buying a permission to use the Minecraft Realms product and service in accordance with these Terms. The only permissions you have in connection with Minecraft Realms are the permissions set out in these Terms - and the specific statutory exceptions or rights (including so called fair use or fair dealing rights) that you are otherwise entitled to by law but they will generally apply to Content and not Minecraft Realms itself.

Some versions of Realms may also allow you to back-up the data from Your Minecraft Realm and having done so you may be able to download it to your device and use it with your own (legitimate) version of Minecraft (and subject to the Minecraft EULA).

YOUR CONTENT

If you create things using Minecraft Realms or make any content or material available on or through it ("Your Content"), you also agree to give us and other people who have access to it permission to use it. That also means we can use, copy, modify, adapt, distribute, publicly display and otherwise make available Your Content to others (without payment or restriction). That includes anything you build, craft or create and any communications you make such as through any chat functionality we have or make available. You also agree to let us permit others to use, copy, modify, adapt, distribute and make available Your Content and you accept that you may not get a credit or attribution for this.

This is necessary for a number of reasons, including that we need to make sure that when other people (who you may invite) access Your Minecraft Realm they have the right to do so and when you access Other Minecraft Realms you have the right to do so. We also need to make sure that we aren't liable for what other people do with Your Content when you let them use it - because we can't control that - and we also need to reflect the fact that Your Content will generally include our software, textures, assets, tools etc. that we own (see above).

These permissions last forever and cannot be revoked. If you don't want to give these permissions, do not make content available using Minecraft Realms.

Please therefore think carefully before you make any content available, because it will be made public (including to anyone else who has access to the Minecraft Realms that you access) and it might even be used by other people in a way you don't like.

If you are going to make Your Content available using Minecraft Realms, such as on or through Your Minecraft Realm or Other Minecraft Realms, it must:

not be offensive to people;

not be illegal or unlawful;

be honest and not mislead, trick or exploit anyone else nor impersonate others;

not infringe anyone's copyright or other rights;

not be racist, sexist or homophobic;

not be bullying or abusive;

not damage our or another person's reputation;

not include pornography;

not include advertising.

You must not make any content available using Minecraft Realms that infringes the rights of anyone else.

You are responsible for all content that is made available by you using Minecraft Realms.

You are also responsible for all content that is made available by you or others using Your Minecraft Realm.

By making Your Content available you warrant and are telling us that you are fully entitled to do so under these Terms and that we are entitled to exercise the rights you have granted to us under these Terms.

If you want to notify us that someone is infringing your intellectual property on Minecraft Realms or any of our services, please submit your notice to https://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyrtInfrg.aspx. We reserve the right to take down any content in our discretion. If appropriate, we may terminate or suspend accounts of users who are repeat infringers.

OTHER CONTENT

When using Minecraft Realms, you may also be able to access and use content created by other people ("Other Content"). Some of this Other Content may be made available by people you invite into Your Minecraft Realm and some may be made available as part of someone else's Minecraft Realm.

Like with Your Content, Other Content will also generally include our software, textures, assets, tools etc. that we own (see above).

If someone makes available or gives you access to Other Content then you may use it within and in connection with your use of Minecraft Realms, subject to these Terms. In any case Other Content is subject to these Terms.

USER CONTENT

The following sets out some terms concerning both Your Content and Other Content - which together are referred to simply as "User Content".

Minecraft Realms is an entertainment service and ancillary to this we are involved in the transmission, distribution, storage and retrieval of User Content without review, selection or alteration of the content - for which it is a mere conduit - and / or hosting of User Content without knowledge of the content. What that means is that we don't monitor or review User Content and so we won't know what is being circulated by you or other people. We may check it for technical compliance, compatibility and / or viruses etc. but we do not review the content itself or information contained in it. We have these rules in the Terms that you and other people have to comply with but we can't know everything that goes on.

So please note that:

the views expressed in any User Content are the views of the individual authors or creators and not us or anyone connected with us unless we specify otherwise;

we are not responsible for (and, subject to applicable law, make no warranty or representation in relation to and disclaim all liability for) all User Content including any comments, views or remarks expressed in it;

by using Minecraft Realms you acknowledge that we have no responsibility to monitor or review the content of any User Content and that all User Content is made available on the basis that we are not required to and do not exercise any control or judgment over it;

when you communicate with other players, do not ask people you haven’t met in real life to meet up with you in real life.

HOWEVER we may remove, reject or suspend access to any User Content and remove or suspend your ability to post, make available or access User Content - including removing or suspending access to Your Minecraft Realm or Other Minecraft Realms if we consider it is appropriate to do so, such as because you have breached these Terms or we receive a complaint that we believe warrants such action. We will also act expeditiously to remove or disable access to User Content if and when we have actual knowledge of it being unlawful.

8. BINDING ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER IF YOU LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES

Individual Arbitration and Not in Court. We hope we never have a dispute, but if we do, you and we agree to try for 60 days to work it out informally. If we can't and you live in the United States, you and we agree to binding individual arbitration before the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under the Federal Arbitration Act, and not to sue in court in front of a judge or jury. Instead, a neutral arbitrator will decide. AAA tries to make arbitration speedy and fair. Class action lawsuits, class-wide arbitrations, private attorney-general actions, and anything else where someone acts in a representative capacity, aren't allowed. Nor is combining individual proceedings without the consent of all parties

Disputes Covered – Everything Except IP. The term "dispute" is as broad as it can be. It means any claim or controversy between you and us concerning our Game, Minecraft Realms, a price, the Agreement itself, the Terms and Conditions listed above, or this Arbitration Agreement, under any legal theory including contract, warranty, tort, statute, or regulation, except disputes relating to the enforcement or validity of your, your licensors', our, or our licensors' intellectual property rights.

Option 1 to resolve a dispute: Mail a Notice of Dispute. Our Arbitration Agreement is as generous as any we've seen because we respect our users and want to be fair. If you have a dispute and our customer service representatives can't fix it, mail a Notice of Dispute to Mojang AB c/o Microsoft Corporation, Attn: LCA Arbitration, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399. Tell us your name, address, how to contact you, what the problem is, and what you want. Download and use this form to make sure all the necessary information is included at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=245499. We'll do the same if we have a dispute with you. After 60 days, you or we may start an arbitration if we haven't worked it out.

Option 2 to resolve a dispute: Small Claims Court. Instead of mailing a Notice of Dispute, you can sue us in small claims court in the county where you live or King County, Washington, if you meet the court's requirements. We hope you'll mail a Notice of Dispute (option 1) and give us 60 days to try to work it out, but you don't have to before going to small claims court.

Arbitration Procedure. If a dispute isn’t resolved in small claims court or within 60 days after a Notice of Dispute, you or we may start an arbitration. The American Arbitration Association ("AAA") will conduct any arbitration under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. For more information, see www.adr.org or call 1-800-778-7879. To start an arbitration, submit the form available at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=245497 to the AAA and follow the steps on it. In a dispute involving $25,000 or less, any hearing will be telephonic unless the arbitrator finds good cause to hold an in-person hearing instead. Any in-person hearing will take place in the county where you live or King County, Washington; you choose. The arbitrator may award the same damages to you individually as a court could. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only to you individually to satisfy your individual claim; that means an arbitrator may determine your and our rights and order us to do something for you, but may not do either for a class or group of persons.

Fees and Payments:

Disputes Involving Any Amount. If you start an arbitration, we won't seek our AAA or arbitrator's fees and expenses, or your filing fees we reimbursed, unless the arbitrator finds the arbitration frivolous or brought for an improper purpose. If we start an arbitration, we will pay all filing, AAA, and arbitrator's fees and expenses. We won't seek our attorney's fees or expenses from you in any arbitration. Fees and expenses are not counted in determining how much a dispute involves.

Disputes Involving $75,000 or Less. We will promptly reimburse your filing fees and pay the AAA's and arbitrator's fees and expenses. If you reject our last written settlement offer made before the arbitrator was appointed, your dispute goes all the way to an arbitrator's decision (called an award), and the arbitrator awards you more than this last written offer, we will: (i) pay the greater of the award or $1,000; (ii) pay your reasonable attorney's fees, if any; and (iii) reimburse any expenses (including expert witness fees and costs) that your attorney reasonably accrues for investigating, preparing, and pursuing your arbitration. The arbitrator will determine the amount of fees, costs, and expenses unless you and we agree on them.

Disputes Involving More than $75,000. The AAA rules will govern payment of filing fees and the AAA's and arbitrator's fees and expenses.

Conflict with AAA Rules. This Arbitration Agreement governs if it conflicts with the AAA's Consumer Arbitration Rules.

Rejecting Future Arbitration Changes. You may reject any change we make to this Arbitration Agreement (except address changes) by mailing notice within 30 days of the change to the Redmond, WA address above. If you do, the most recent version of the Arbitration Agreement before the change you rejected will apply.

Must File Within One Year. You and we must file in small claims court or arbitration any claim or dispute (except intellectual property disputes – see Disputes Covered) within one year from when it first could be filed. Otherwise, it's permanently barred. If you have a dispute, tell us now. We'll do the same.

Severability. If the class action waiver in this Arbitration Agreement is found to be illegal or unenforceable as to all or parts of a dispute, this Arbitration Agreement won't apply to those parts. Instead, those parts will proceed in court with the remaining parts proceeding in arbitration. If any other provision of this Arbitration Agreement is found to be illegal or unenforceable, that provision will be severed but the rest of this Arbitration Agreement will still apply.

9. OUR LIABILITY, GOVERNING LAW, AND PLACE TO RESOLVE DISPUTES

The terms of this Agreement do not affect any legal (statutory) rights that you may have under the law that applies to you for the Game. You might have certain rights which the law that applies to you says cannot be excluded. Nothing we say in these terms will affect those legal rights, even if we say something which sounds like it contradicts your legal rights. That’s what we mean when we say “subject to applicable law”.

Subject to applicable law, when you get a copy of our Game, we provide it "'as is"'. Updates are also provided "'as is"'. This means that we are not making any promises to you about the standard or quality of our Game, or that our Game will be uninterrupted or error free. We are not responsible for any loss or damage that it may cause. You bear the entire risk as to its quality and performance. You have to accept that we may release games well before they are complete and so they may (and often will) have bugs -but we prefer to release these features early than make you wait for perfection. If you would like to notify us about a potential bug, we have a site for that here.

If you and we ever have a dispute in court (and we hope that won't happen just as much as you do), the exclusive forum (that is, the place it will be handled) will be a state or federal court in King County, WA (if you live in the United States) or a court in Ontario (if you live in Canada). (If you live in the United States, most disputes go to arbitration, not court.) The laws of your state or province govern this Agreement and all disputes, including disputes relating to it, our Game, or our Website, regardless of conflict of laws principles, except that the Federal Arbitration Act governs everything related to arbitration.

10. TERMINATION

If we want we can terminate this Agreement if you breach any of the terms or violate any of our policies. You can terminate it too, at any time; all you have to do is uninstall the Game from your device and the Agreement will be terminated. If the Agreement is terminated, you will no longer have any of the rights to the Game given in this license. You do still have the right to things you have created yourself with the game of course. The Arbitration Agreement (if you live in the United States) and the paragraphs about "Ownership of Our Game", "Our Liability" and "General Stuff" will continue to apply even after the Agreement is terminated.

11. GENERAL STUFF

Your local law may give you rights that this Agreement cannot change; if so, this Agreement applies as far as the law allows. Nothing in this license limits our liability for death or bodily injury resulting from our negligence or fraudulent misrepresentations.

We may change this Agreement from time to time, if we have reason to, such as changes to our games, our practices, or our legal obligation. But those changes will be effective only to the extent that they can legally apply. For example if you use the Game only in single-player mode and don't use the updates we make available then the old Agreement applies but if you do use the updates or use parts of the game that rely on our providing ongoing online services then the new Agreement will apply. In that case we'll inform you of the change before it takes effect, either by posting a notice on our Website or by other reasonable means. We're not going to be unfair about this though - but sometimes the law changes or someone does something that affects other users of the Game and we therefore need to put a lid on it.

If you come to us with a suggestion for any one of our Websites or Games, that suggestion is made for free and we have no obligation to accept or consider it. This means we can use or not use your suggestion in any way we want and we don't have to pay you for it. If you think you have a suggestion that we would be willing to pay you for, please do not submit your suggestion unless you have first told us you expect to be paid and we have responded in writing by asking you to submit the suggestion.